Schools encouraged to include e-cigarettes in tobacco-free policies

After learning about e-cigarettes’ availability and prevalence from local teens, public health officials are asking schools to consider adjusting their tobacco policies to keep pace with the latest trends.

Some teens acquire e-cigarettes — also known as vape pens and e-hookahs — from 18-year-old friends, stores that don’t check IDs and even their parents, Marathon County Health Department public health educator Destinee Coenen said at a meeting of the Western Marathon County Health Communities coalition last week.

“We’re finding kids are bringing them into schools, and teachers don’t know what they are,” Coenen said. She told the coalition one local teacher unknowingly let a student charge an e-cigarette in her classroom and was surprised when another teacher told her what the device was used for.

“Police are confused how to handle this,” said Dot Kalmon, coordinator for the Central Wisconsin Tobacco Free Coalition. “Do they ticket the kids?”

Banning parents from using e-cigarettes at school functions could open schools up for a battle if the devices aren’t specifically prohibited by the school’s tobacco policy.

“Schools and businesses should look at their policies and make sure (e-cigarettes) are covered,” said Aaron Ruff, a public health educator with the Marathon County Healthy Department. “If it’s not covered under your policy, you have every right to add it.”

While e-cigarettes don’t contain tar like nicotine, the liquid vaporized and inhaled through an e-cigarette contains chemicals not listed on the label and varying levels of nicotine, which can produce undesirable health effects in the user and others nearby.

Coenen said many teens and adults aren’t aware e-cigarettes pose any danger.

Kalmon said most teenagers don’t smoke cigarettes, but many have taken up vaping and using products like dissolvable tobacco, which are less expensive and harder to spot.

“When a parent or teacher is looking in a backpack, they wouldn’t know candy, mints or gum from the tobacco,” Kalmon said. Trendy tobacco products often are packaged and flavored like candy, which makes them attractive to teens.

Because the products appeal to teens, more than just a school policy is needed to get teens to stop using e-cigarettes and other nicotine-containing substances, Coenen said.

Students learn why nicotine is harmful in health classes, but they don’t often consider future consequences when deciding to try the substances. Explaining to teens how nicotine is marketed to them might get them to think twice about trying the products, she said.

Marisa Cuellar can be reached at 715-384-3131. Find her on Twitter as @cuellm34.